De-mystifying Lean Six Sigma (LSS) for Everyone!
By Dr. Tom DePaoli
For more process improvement ideas see my books on
Amazon.
Many business
professionals are intimidated by Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and its proponents.
Relax; it is just a disciplined approach to problem solving. It uses many tools
that have been around for years and the tools have just been cleverly
repackaged by consultants. Decisions are data based, disciplined and plodding.
Without top-down commitment, it is doomed to fail. Make sure you secure this
executive commitment, and better yet make participation a strong criterion for
individual performance reviews (raises). Projects should be selected by ROI and
since much time and teams are required for a project, they must return or save
at least $300,000 to qualify as a full blown LSS project.
Supply
Chain and purchasing professionals must be involved in sourcing the LSS
consultant. Experience is critical and a proven track record of project success
essential. Get references and insist on examples of work. Use a fixed hourly
rate and make sure all developed training and projects remain your property.
You can try to make the contract performance based but many LSS firms will not
agree to this. Make the goal to be self-sufficient internally within two years
with all LSS training and projects.
Some
projects that have been done in purchasing and the supply chain are: inventory
cost, part obsolescence prevention, lead-time reduction, backlogs, unexpected
orders, customer service internal and external, cost of schedule changes,
transaction flows, cost of return product, and supply chain optimization. Many
of these involve process mapping which is a type of flow chart that illustrates
how things are done and identifies areas of strength or weakness. LSS is not
the only tool that can be used by supply management professionals for
improvement. In my experience LSS should be used when the potential savings is
great and you have some good data to analyze. If you do not have good data the
LSS project will take even longer. If data
is sparse, the Lean approach is much preferred which is highly visual,
intuitive and does not require as much data.
Always
Lean a process before your use LSS. By this I mean eliminate any redundant
steps in the process that can be easily eliminated first. Reduce the number of
variables in the process. Try to understand the voice of the customer (VOC)
clearly before your start process improvement. Remember if the customer does
not really care or value a process step; ask yourself, “Why are we doing it?”
Finally
use kaizens for straight forward less complicated projects. The kaizen approach
is usually done by the work team using the process and strives to eliminate
waste in the process. The new kaizen improved process should then be quickly
implemented. Supply chain and purchasing professionals must take the leadership
role in LSS, Lean and kaizens. In my
professional experience, the rewards of these approaches can be astounding.
They do however require a measured and disciplined approach, and a commitment
to not giving up!
Dr. Tom DePaoli, (Dr. Tom) is currently an independent
management consultant, the Principal of Apollo Solutions, which does general
business consulting in the human resources, supply chain and lean six sigma
areas. His organization was self-founded in 1995. He retired as a Captain from
the Navy Reserve. In other civilian careers, he was a supply chain and human
resources executive with corporate purchasing turnaround experience and lean
six sigma deployments. He has worked for over ten major companies and consulted
for over fifty organizations throughout his career. Some of his consulting
projects include: information systems projects, re-engineering organizations,
transformation, e-procurement, e-commerce, change management, global sourcing
and negotiating. His industry experience is in the chemical, paper,
pharmaceutical, IT, automotive, government, consumer, equipment, services and
consulting industries. He has been published extensively in journals, magazines
and books. He is the author of eleven books all available on Amazon. He has instructed at six education facilities
in numerous roles. He is active in
supporting the YMCA, Wounded Warrior, and the prevention of the bullying of
children.
https://www.amazon.com/author/tomdepaoli = Dr. Tom’s Amazon author’s page
http://www.apollosolutions.us = website of Apollo Solutions his business
drtombooks.com = more
information on Dr. Tom’s books
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